Good Bad Guys Are Hard To Find
by Dakota Kent
Summary: When nobody except Shawn believes Juliet is in danger, he takes matters into his own--capable when it counts--hands.
1. We've got a situation here

**Disclaimer: I don't own Psych, though it would be fun if I did .**

"He would not get drunk from that. It's like if I ate a Jack Daniels steak, I wouldn't get drunk from it."

"Au contraire, my mythologically misguided friend. I think you're just arguing because you lack knowledge in the mythologicalness department."

"Mythologicalness isn't even a word, Shawn"

"Perhaps, but everyone knows a Vampire will get drunk if he drinks the blood of a drunk person. I don't know why that's so hard for you to believe." Shawn shrugged his shoulders and continued up the stairs of the SBPD with Gus.

"I am not hearing this, Shawn. I can't believe we are even having this conversation."

Shawn held up his hand. "Let's just wait to see what Jules has to say on the subject."

"Yes, let's. She's a sensible, reasonable person."

"Which is why she'll agree with me." Before Gus could respond to that, they found themselves standing in front of Juliet's empty desk.

"What're you two doing here so early?" Lassiter had just rounded the corner to find the duo blocking his path.

"It's a delight to see you too, Lassie," chirped Shawn. "Say, how much knowledge do you have of Vampires?"

"Enough to know they don't exist."

"But if they did--which they do," Shawn coughed, "they could get drunk, don't you think?"

"What are you talking about?" Lassiter's brow furrowed in confusion, and maybe a little bit of annoyance.

"If a Vampire drinks the blood of a drunk person, he'll get drunk. Common knowledge, Lassie," said Shawn matter-of-factly.

"The low percentage of alcohol in the blood likely wouldn't--" Lassiter abruptly stopped when he realized what he was doing. "This is ridiculous! A waste of my time." He turned to storm off, anxious to get back to work and back to reality.

"Wait-up Lassie, do you know where Jules is?"

"You're dating her, Spencer," Lassie said it like an accusation. "Though heaven knows why she said yes to you," they heard him mumble not so discretely. "Don't you know where she is?" Lassie was once again back to his full volume.

At that moment, Juliet came hurrying over to her desk. "Sorry I'm late," she breathed, avoiding Shawn's puckered lips and shooting him a you-know-the-rules look. Juliet was very strict about being professional at work. That meant no public displays of affection between herself and Shawn. No matter how much he pouted and no matter how much she secretly wanted to give in and kiss his endearing pout. "I walked out to my car this morning and noticed that some jerk slashed my tires. Can you believe it?"

"Were any of you neighbors' cars vandalized?" Gus asked the exasperated blonde.

"No, not that I could see. I had time to talk to a passerby, who said he hadn't seen anything, before my cab came. I had to get down here for my court date, I'm testifying."

"A message was left for you about that." Lassiter handed her the paper with the phone message. "Trial's been postponed. Something about one of the other witnesses backing out." He had dismissed the note after jotting it down. After all, the call for his tardy partner had come while he was in the midst of working on his ridiculously large pile of paperwork.

"The next time your car is vandalized in any way, feel free to call me for a ride, Juliet," Gus smiled. Shawn cocked an eyebrow at him.

Juliet briefly looked up from the note. "Uh, thanks Gus," she said, somewhat distracted.

"Something wrong, Jules?" Shawn had noticed her look of confusion after reading the message that was left for her.

"No, it's just…I don't know. One of the other witnesses for the prosecution backed out of testifying yesterday. There are only three witnesses, myself included. It doesn't seem like the prosecution can really afford to have a witness back out, and I don't know why he would back out. I mean, the Winslow trial is a big deal. Police have been after the guy for a long time."

"You're testifying in the Winslow murder trial?" Gus was somewhat in awe.

"Mm-hmm. That's the one."

"Ooh." Everyone turned to look at Gus. "I've been following that story in the papers. Jack Winslow is a scary guy."

"The nut job went after all the people responsible for putting his father behind bars a few years ago," Lassiter informed them.

"Similar to a documentary I saw on the History Channel, only it was about…." As Gus began his synopsis of the episode, Shawn's attention drifted. A man who had come from the direction of the sign-in desk caught his attention. The man had paused to send a glare in the group's direction--specifically at Juliet, Shawn noted--before shuffling to the exit.

"Who's that?" He asked, interrupting Gus' spiel on the History Channel. Juliet, Gus, and Lassiter all looked up. Juliet's brow instantly furrowed in confusion.

"That's… the guy I talked to this morning. The one who said he didn't see anyone suspicious near my car. What's he doing here?" She added, mostly to herself.

"I'll be right back." With that, Shawn walked over to the Visitation Sergeant and, unable to get much information out of the him, helped himself to the visitor log while the Sergeant's back was turned. Scanning the list of names, dates, and times, Shawn saw the name Simon Dupree appeared on several occasions. Each time to visit Jack Winslow, but only for a few short minutes at a time. "That's strange," Shawn muttered. "Doesn't stay to chat long when the guy he knows is about to surely be convicted of murder. Unless…" Shawn scanned the list one more time before he hurried back over to where the others were waiting for him. "I'm sensing we've got a situation here. I need to see the Chief."


	2. Lunchtime interruptions and other inconv...

Ten minutes later, Shawn, Gus, Juliet, and Carlton were all assembled in Chief Karen Vick's office waiting for Shawn to enlighten them with his newfound information.

"What is this about, Spencer?" Barked Lassiter.

Shawn ignored him--just to further irk him--and instead addressed Chief Vick. "Chief, the reason the Winslow trial is postponed is because a key witness backed out, is that correct?"

"Spencer, we already know all of this!"

"Lassie-face," Shawn calmly turned to him. "I'm hearing this," Shawn began opening and closing his fingers like a talking mouth, "and I want to hear this," he clamped his fingers and thumb together to indicate silence. Shawn smirked at Lassiter's annoyance, then turned back to the Chief. "Why did this witness back out?"

"If you must know," Karen began, "he said it was for personal reasons. He seemed very reluctant to elaborate on that."

Shawn found that last part very interesting. "Personal, like he was threatened into silence. Reluctant, like his life depends on it?"

"What are you getting at?" Karen asked, not unkindly but not wanting to beat around the bush.

"It seems very unusual that a witness would back out so suddenly for no apparent reason."

"Well--"

"Especially when the murderer has a certain friend hanging around so much."

"Suspected murderer," corrected Gus.

"I think if you look at the logs, Chief, you'll find that a Simon Dupree has been visiting. Frequently."

"That's not a crime," Karen pointed out.

"He visited the day the witness backed out, and he showed up today right after Jules arrived."

"And her tires were slashed this morning," Gus added, seeing where Shawn was heading with this.

"Really?" Karen looked at Juliet.

"Yes, I had a harmless run-in with him this morning, but it was probably just a coincidence."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Jules."

Karen held up a hand to stop Shawn. "As convincing as this is beginning to get, we have no proof. Detective O'Hara is right; as far as we know it's just a coincidence. I can't call this guy in because of a coincidence."

"But Chief--"

"I'm sorry, Spencer, but until you've got something solid that's how it has to be."

As everyone shuffled out, Karen approached Shawn. "You know I'm not doing this to be heartless. If I thought for a second Detective O'Hara was in danger I'd have her placed into protective custody, no matter how much she hated it, but we have no reason to believe that this man is a threat."

¨\¨

Shawn kept himself busy until it was time for Juliet's lunch break, leaving only to grab them both some food. Luckily, Juliet and Lassiter both had paperwork to catch-up on and no new cases that needed investigating. Shawn didn't want Juliet out of his sight since he was the only person to believe his suspicions to be serious and not merely paranoia.

"I think I've got a permanent crick in my neck from sitting at my desk all day. I hate paperwork." Juliet and Shawn chose to eat their lunch outside--well, Juliet insisted--so they could enjoy the sun and have some time to themselves.

"Allow me to work my magic, m'lady." Shawn stretched his arms dramatically and flexed his fingers, moving to stand behind Juliet. He began to gently massage her shoulders and Juliet felt the tension slide away as Shawn's warm hands roamed her back.

"Mmm, that feels nice."

"Seeing as how you've never complained after one of my massages, I figured I was doing something right."

"You do everything right." They both smiled at Juliet's words. "And Shawn?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being so concerned about me. I mean, that meeting you called with Chief Vick…I really do appreciate it, even if I don't think it's necessary."

"Jules, I know you're tough, but I worry about you. I can't help it, I love you." He smiled down at her when she leaned her head back to look at him.

"I love you, too. And I know you'll always be there for me." She straightened up again, "now back to my massage, mister."

"Bossy much?" He teased.

"Hey," she began, playfully, "I resent--"

Shawn felt her suddenly tense up and looked down to see what was wrong. He followed her gaze to a man standing down the sidewalk from them. Not just any man. Shawn immediately recognized Simon Dupree standing there glaring at Juliet yet again. Shawn made a move in Dupree's direction, but Juliet was already a few steps ahead of him.

"Hey," she called out. "Is there something you need?" Before Juliet could finish, Dupree took off in the opposite direction, running towards the crowded downtown shops. Shawn and Juliet took one look at each other then started running after him. They nearly caught up when Dupree rounded a corner and disappeared into a throng of people who were watching a street performer who was contorting himself to fit into a knee-high container.

"Definitely something weird about that guy," Shawn said while trying to catch his breath.

"I'm beginning to get creeped out myself."

"Oh, I was talking about that odd, and pained looking, contortionist over there," Shawn pointed out.

"Juliet rolled her eyes and started back to the station.


	3. Lassie cares

"The guy is a creeper, Jules." Shawn was following Juliet back to her desk, hopefully convincing her that something was for sure going on now.

"I know, but it doesn't matter if I think he's the definition of creeper, the Chief's hands are tied."

"What's going on?" Lassiter came over looking genuinely interested.

Juliet shot Shawn a quick glance before explaining, urging him not to make a big deal about this in front of Carlton. She felt she had to work at proving her capability as a detective and did not want to look weak in front of her partner now.

After giving Carlton the abridged version of her eventful lunch, Juliet sat down behind her desk. Trying to pretend nothing unusual and slightly troubling had occurred, she attempted to concentrate on paperwork but failed miserably. Shawn looked on with concern knowing that this situation bothered her more than she let on.

"You know," said Lassiter, clearing his throat, "I might be up a little later than usual tonight if someone might need to call…for any reason."

Juliet, shocked, looked up at her partner. The subtle warmth in his words touched her. "Thank you, Carlton. That means a lot to me." He nodded curtly at her, not wanting this to become a big deal.

"Lassie, you care. You really care!"

Lassiter stalked off, grumbling about useless psychics as he went.

'_Way to ruin the moment' _thought Juliet, unable to hide the small smile that always showed itself after one of Shawn's comical outbursts.

Shawn took his usual seat on the edge of Juliet's desk and said casually, "so Jules, how do you feel about pajama parties?"

"What are you talking about, Shawn?"

"You shouldn't be alone, the Chief's hands are tied, yet mine," he held up his wiggling fingers, "are free to braid hair, bake cookies, and have pillow fights," he finished in his best valley girl voice.

He saw stubbornness cross Juliet's features for a moment, but the weirdness of the day must've won out.

"Sure Shawn, I'd love that. Thank you," she said earnestly.

"For you, anything," he winked. "Besides, if you hadn't let me bunk with you, I was gonna camp out on your porch. I like this way better."


	4. Pillow Fights and Fist Fights

After picking up some of Shawn's overnight necessities and a few groceries, the couple made their way to Juliet's house. They hadn't spent much time together at Juliet's place since they began dating but, looking around, Shawn noticed something was missing.

"Hey Jules, don't you have a couple of cats? I don't see them around here."

"I asked Gus to take them for a few days. If someone is out to get me, I don't want them getting hurt."

Shawn raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Of all the things to worry about when your life could be in danger. Cats." Shawn laughed at her and shook his head. Juliet sent him a pout on her way into the kitchen.

"I'll start dinner, pasta sound alright?"

"Sounds great," said Shawn, following her into the kitchen and heading to the freezer." It was Shawn's turn to pout. "No cookie dough, Jules? I thought we were gonna make cookies."

"Um…." Juliet melted at the look on his face. She resigned long ago that she'd never figure out how he could always have that effect on her. Juliet had to shake her head to think clearly again. "I've got everything we need to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch."

"From scratch." Shawn mulled over the words as if they were a foreign language. "Interesting concept."

After dinner, and of course after plenty of cookies, it was decided that a good ol' '80's movie was in order. While Juliet was putting in the movie, a scathingly brilliant idea crossed Shawn's mind. Busy with the DVD player, Juliet never saw the pillow that was flung across the living room; the pillow that stopped only once it had lightly hit the back of her head. She turned around to find Shawn lounging on the couch looking oh-so-innocent.

Juliet grabbed the offending pillow and lunged at Shawn, landing so that she straddled him on the sofa.

"Jules, please, I'm unarmed!" Shawn tried half-heartedly to wrestle the pillow away from Juliet as she bopped him on the head in return. Soon, though, Shawn did get the pillow back because Juliet couldn't stop laughing long enough to hold on to it.

By the time the previews ended, Juliet managed to control her giggles and she and Shawn settled comfortably onto the couch. Juliet relaxed into the circle of Shawn's arms, both enjoying the warmth and closeness.

"Comfortable?" Juliet murmured.

"Very." Shawn looked down at Juliet nestled into his side, her eyes closed. He couldn't remember the last time he actually watched a movie in Juliet's presence rather than admiring her. Gazing down on the beautiful, peaceful picture she made, Shawn decided he'd much rather watch her any day. "How about you? Did you want to change into something more comfortable?"

"Isn't that my line?" Juliet said through a smile. "Are you trying to seduce me Shawn Spencer?"

"Believe me, Jules, if I was trying to seduce you I'd be a lot smoother than that. For starters, I'd need chamomile tea, pudding, and a slinky."

Not bothering to analyze that, Juliet cuddled closer to Shawn, preparing to carry on her ritual of dozing off on movie night. Juliet had never been a big participant in movie nights before meeting Shawn, but she soon discovered one of the more positive aspects of the tradition; cuddling. She may be a cool, calm, collected detective by day, but her girly side could always be brought out by Shawn's close proximity. Or whenever she thought about Shawn, or someone mentioned his name, or….Juliet began to drift off. Focusing on the sounds of the movie and the rhythm of Shawn's breathing, it took Juliet a moment to realize the faint rattling noise she heard didn't belong.

Raising her head to hear better, Juliet looked over at Shawn. "Do you hear that?"

Absorbed in his own thoughts, it took Shawn a few seconds to pin-point the noise at the back of the house.

"I think it's the back door." He slowly stood up. "You stay here, I'll go check it out."

Shawn should've known Juliet wouldn't accept those terms, because he heard her get up and follow him.

"I think someone's trying to get in," Juliet whispered urgently. Shawn reached around protectively, making sure Juliet kept him between herself and the door. The blinds were drawn so he couldn't see outside, but thought he could make out a figure on the back porch. "I'm going to get my gun," said Juliet, making her way to the bedroom.

"A little late for that, Jules." With one last pop, the door was forced open and Shawn found himself face-to-face with a masked intruder. Male, judging by the person's size. "Simon Dupree I presume?" Shawn was able to yank off his mask before he had time to recover from the surprise at finding Shawn standing there. Behind the mask was indeed Simon Dupree.

Apparently not pleased with Shawn's greeting, Dupree took a swing at Shawn. Ducking at the last second, Shawn reflexively swung out to protect himself and made contact with Dupree's mouth.

"Ow! Really? Did you just bite my hand?! Who does that, anyway?"

"SBPD, freeze!"

The would-be burglar's eyes widened when he saw Juliet, gun drawn, coming down the hallway. Making a run for it, Juliet followed him through the back door and across the dark yard before he jumped a fence and disappeared into the night. Shawn was still holding his hand when she made her way back inside. "He got away, Shawn. Are you okay?" She gently held his hand and checked for damage. "That was a great punch you got in."

"Yeah, well, it's just one of my many skills, Jules. You never know when these fists of fury will be called upon for help."

"Come on," she said, rolling her eyes. Juliet grabbed some ice from the freezer and rolled it in a towel for Shawn's hand.

Shawn noticed her frowning at his hand. "You know, it's not that bad," he reassured her. She smiled up at him, only slightly relieved.

"You shouldn't have gotten hurt at all."

"Jules…if I hadn't been here. Well, I hate to think what could have happened." Shawn flinched at the thought of what might have been.

Juliet reached across the table for his good hand. "Thank you for being here. I'm sorry I've been so stubborn about all of this. I'm just not used to being vulnerable. I don't like it."

"Me either," agreed Shawn with a sigh. "But I'm glad you're finally coming to your senses." They grinned at each other.

"I'll tell Carlton tomorrow about what happened. He'll want to know. And more importantly, he'll want to be in on tracking this guy down."

"In the mean time," said Shawn, standing up and moving to Juliet's side, "we're not staying here. It's not likely he'll be back tonight, but I don't want to take any chances. We'll stay at the Psych office."

Knowing that arguing would be useless, and not completely adverse to the idea anyway, Juliet nodded in agreement. No matter where they stayed tonight, at least she'd be with Shawn.


	5. Apple Danish won't be denied

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the great reviews everyone! I'm glad this story is likeable:)**

The remainder of Shawn and Juliet's night passed without further incident. For Juliet, sleeping at the Psych office turned out to be more restful then she ever would have thought. Well, anything was more restful than finding an intruder in your home. Besides, Dupree was after her, not Shawn, so she doubted that Dupree even knew the Psych office existed. Still, Juliet slept fitfully, waking at odd hours because of a harmless noise outside. At one point she woke up forgetting where she was, but remembered as soon as she felt Shawn's warm arms securely holding her close to him.

For Shawn, restful wasn't quite the word he would use to describe his night. More like watchful. While he didn't think Dupree had stuck around after Juliet--brandishing her gun--chased him into the night, he couldn't shake the feeling that this guy had been watching Juliet, and not just that day they had caught him while eating lunch. He was planning his attacks. First the harmless warning; her car tires being slashed. Next, the intrusion tonight. Juliet couldn't be scared into submission the way the other witness who had stepped down had been. But if Dupree's actions were any indication of a pattern, the next time he showed up he would be planning on causing more pain than Shawn's bruised hand. And Shawn wasn't about to let that happen. When Juliet wasn't at work with Lassiter, she'd be with Shawn and a police escort. There was no room for taking chances with her safety anymore.

Shawn eventually dozed off into a light, dreamless sleep. When morning finally came, they were both awoken by Gus entering the office.

"Your night must have been interesting," greeted Gus.

"Nah, not so much," said Shawn casually.

"Simon Dupree broke into my house and tried to attack us," said Juliet flatly.

"Except for that," Shawn amended his earlier answer.

Of course Gus demanded a retelling of their night, and by that time, three growling stomachs could be heard.

"I'd offer you a delicious Danish heated by our state-of-the-art microwave oven--"

"It's actually the old one from my place," informed Gus.

"--But our power has been turned off."

"Again?" exclaimed Gus. "I leave you in charge of one thing, Shawn, and--"

"Relax, Gus-Gus. I'll take care of it today. I'll take our check down to Chief Vick and have her sign it, then it's off to the bank. End of problem."

"One: I am not an obese mouse from Cinderella, don't call me Gus-Gus. Two: I'm coming with you. I've got a mean craving for an apple Danish that can not be denied."

"Come on," said Juliet. "We can pick-up some breakfast on the way to the station."

~**~

Karen and Lassiter were surprised to hear about Shawn and Juliet's night.

Karen was the first to comment. "I owe you both an apology. This is more serious than I thought." Juliet shook her head, urging the Chief not to blame herself for anything. "Detective Lassiter?"

"I'm on it, Chief," said Lassiter, already knowing what was needed to be done. "I'll start searching our database for this guy."

Relieved that action was being taken, Shawn could breathe a little easier. Juliet was in safe hands, though he'd never let Lassie hear him admit that. '_That_ ego did not need to be fed' Shawn laughed to himself.

"Oh, one more thing, Chief," Shawn stalled while Gus pulled out their check.

"Right." Karen pulled out a pen and began signing.

"You can just put 'for apple Danish' in the memo line," suggested Shawn with no success.

Karen handed back their signed check and excused herself. Juliet headed to a filing cabinet to begin on more dreaded paperwork, and Shawn followed her.

"So, I can stay here if you'd like. I'm sure Gus can handle the bank on his own this time."

Juliet smiled. "No, you go ahead with Gus, I'll be fine. I'm sure you have other things to do besides worry about me."

Shawn put on his thinking face and Juliet rolled her eyes. "Really," she urged, "I'll be fine. No one's going to get me here."

"I know, and I'll be back soon."

"Okay. Be careful," Juliet added.

"Don't worry about us," Shawn winked.

"Bye Gus!"

"Later Juliet."

"Paperwork should be illegal," Juliet grumbled as she went to pour herself a cup of coffee before starting on any mind-numbing paperwork. Taking her seat, she scanned the top of her desk for a pen. When one didn't turn up, she opened her top drawer in further search of a one, but instead she pulled out a small piece of paper covered with slanted scrawling she didn't recognize. Juliet froze as she read, her heart beating sporadically to pump what felt like ice through her veins.

"O'Hara." Lassiter approached, his commanding voice barely cut through her terror-stricken mind. "I put the name Simon Dupree into our database. He doesn't exist. At least not the Simon Dupree who fit's the description you and Spencer gave. But," he continued, placing a file containing a picture on her desk. "Tommy Winslow fits the bill."

Juliet slowly glanced from the note she was grasping to the picture Carlton had placed before her. The man in the mug shot was who she thought to be Simon Dupree, but the name Tommy Winslow was written along the top.

"Our murder suspect Jack Winslow's younger brother. He was arrested a few times on suspicion of illegal arms shipments, but no hard evidence could ever be found." Lassiter said, picking the file back up.

Juliet struggled to speak, but thought better of it as Carlton's retreating figure went off to alert the Chief of his newfound information. She stood up, pushing her chair aside, and sprinted out the door. The message she had clung to seconds before still sat on her desk:

_I've got your boyfriend. Unless you want himdead meet me at 601 Shoreline Drive---alone!_


	6. Warehouse Woes

After the bank, Gus had an appointment with a client, so Shawn opted to go back to the police station and spend some more time with his favorite detective. Shawn knew he had no reason to worry about her safety while she was at work but, really, he just wanted to spend time with Juliet. Besides, you never know when the opportunity to make Lassie grind his teeth would arise.

Shawn waltzed through the station to Juliet's surprisingly empty desk.

"Where'd Jules go?" He asked no one in particular.

Buzz answered on his way by. "I don't know, she was just here."

Shawn's stomach began to tighten with worry. Shawn thought that she had to be around here somewhere. Jumping to conclusions wouldn't help. Besides, if something had happened surely someone would have noticed…something?

Shawn's head snapped up when Lassiter exited the Chief's office. "Hey, Lassie, --"

"Spencer," Lassiter interrupted, striding over. "Did O'Hara fill you in?"

"What? No, I'm actually looking for her now. Fill me in on what?"

"Tommy Winslow, Jack Winslow's younger brother." Lassiter held up Tommy's file for Shawn to see. "That's who's behind all of this."

Seeing the picture, everything fell into place for Shawn. "He's after the witnesses who're supposed to testify against his brother."

"No testimonies, no conviction," said Lassiter, catching on quickly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shawn spotted the over-looked slip of paper lying on Juliet's abandoned desk. Scanning it, Shawn's fists clenched in anger and dread. Tommy Winslow had been watching. He had been close, and he knew when Shawn had left. He had preyed on Juliet's biggest weakness and made her believe that Shawn was in danger.

Slamming the paper down, Shawn sprinted to the parking lot much as Juliet had moments before. Lassiter followed, asking no questions. The look in Shawn's eyes told him enough. This was serious.

~**~

Juliet stepped out of the car and found herself facing a warehouse located at 601 Shoreline Drive. A slate gray, easy-to-miss building not far from a portion of unused docks. On her way here, Juliet had called Shawn's cell--just to be sure--only to get an automated message telling her that service had been shut-off. Shawn really needed to work on his bill-paying skills.

Juliet shuddered once at what she might find behind the large, graffitied door standing closed a few feet ahead of her. High-up on the warehouse, the few dark windows there were stared down at her, daring her to come inside. She knew what she had to do, just as she'd known she couldn't chance alerting Carlton to this. He's not always known for his patience and barging in here to save the day might be what ends Shawn's life. Juliet didn't dwell on that thought. The situation was bad enough without working herself up with nightmares that haven't happened. Won't happen as far as Juliet was concerned. And at this moment she was very concerned. Shawn getting hurt just wasn't an option.

Squaring her shoulders and drawing her gun, Juliet quietly, slowly pushed open the outer door of the warehouse.

Inside, Juliet was surprised at how bright it was despite its dark, creepy exterior. The windows were too dirty and smudged to let much of anything through, but a few large industrial lights shone down from the ceiling leaving only the corners of the quiet building in shadow. The warehouse itself looked to be just short of the size of a football field and contained rows of shelves standing throughout. On a few of the shelves there remained samples of the merchandise exported out of this building; weapons. Handguns, rifles, semiautomatics, and even shoulder-fired missiles. _'Here's Carlton's proof,' _Juliet thought briefly. Looking around for any signs of Shawn and mentally calculating all the charges she could bring against Tommy Winslow, Juliet failed to see the man skulking towards her from a shady corner.

~**~

With Lassiter at the wheel--the car belonged to the government, after all, as he had not so patiently reminded Shawn who wanted to drive--he and Shawn raced away from the police station towards the address Shawn had read on the threat note.

Shawn had nothing to say at the moment. He resisted the urge to tell Lassiter to drive faster knowing that wouldn't help anything at the moment. After glancing impatiently at the speedometer he realized they could give Richard Petty a run for his money so decided it was a moot point. Shawn knew Lassiter would do his best to save Juliet, so if there was ever a time to put differences aside and work together, this was it.

~**~

Before she could turn to confront the source of the footsteps she heard behind her, Juliet felt the cold, steel muzzle of a gun at her neck.

"Drop your weapon and don't try anything."

Juliet hesitated, kicking herself mentally for not seeing this coming. Out of the corner of her eye, Juliet could see that it was Tommy Winslow pointing the gun at her.

"Do it now," he said through clenched teeth, "or your boyfriend will be dead before you can blink."

Reluctantly, Juliet dropped her gun. Tommy kicked it out of reach across the smooth concrete floor. Tommy then walked around to face Juliet, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Where's Shawn?" Demanded Juliet. Tommy's smirk turned into a full-fledged grin. "I did as you said, I came here alone. Now where is he?"

"That's the beauty of my plan."

Juliet sent him a questioning glare, his cue to start the bad-guy pre-killing rant slash unveiling of brilliant plan.

"I don't have him," Tommy laughed. "But how were you to know that? It was all so convincing, wasn't it? The note, the timing. I was relieved at how easy it was to plant that note. People are always so absorbed with themselves, so how convenient that I, a visitor, was able to sneak by everyone. And here you are," he continued in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Playing the hero, but there's no one to rescue."

"You forget that I'm a detective and if I go missing you'll--"

"If you go missing I'll get exactly what I want. I've already got those other witnesses scared into silence. You're my last obstacle to getting my brother out, and boy have you been a pain. All the work I had to do just to get you here. Believe me, I'm going to enjoy killing you."

Juliet's breath hitched at his words. Rationally, she knew coming here wasn't safe and Tommy's goal was to get her, the last remaining witness in his brother's case, out of the way, but that hadn't mattered when Shawn's safety had been in question. Now that she knew he was safe, Juliet actually felt relief despite her current situation.

~**~

Shawn, on the other hand, was more tense than ever. He was out of the car before it came to a stop. Lassiter jumped out and grabbed him by the collar, bringing Shawn to a halt before he got very far.

"Who's the professional here?" Lassiter barked.

"Come on!" Cried Shawn. "She's in there with that nut job."

"I'm just as angry as you are, but we've got to do this right."

Shawn controlled his anger, letting Lassiter take the lead, knowing he had more experience in this area.

On Lassiter's orders, he and Shawn peeked through the small window in the main door. They could see Juliet and they could see Tommy with his gun trained on her, smiling as he spoke to her. Shawn cringed. "I need to know what to do, Lassie."

"You stay here, I called for back-up and it's on its way. There's gotta be a back entrance to this place. I'm going in."

"I can't just stand here and watch--"

"You can and you will." They glared at each other until Lassiter started for the rear of the building. Before he made it around the corner, they both her the faint screech of police sirens.

Lassiter cursed. "I told them no sirens!"

Shawn, judging by the way Tommy's head snapped up, could tell he had heard the sirens coming, too.

Juliet seized Tommy's momentary distraction to grab for his gun. In one swift motion, she yanked it from his grasp and used her leg to knock his feet out from under him. Not expecting Tommy to know the counter-move to her little stunt, Juliet soon found herself on the floor. She cried out when she hit the concrete, landing on her back. Struggling to get up, Juliet was pulled down again by Tommy and he wrestled his way on top of her, pinning her down with his weight and fitting his hands around her throat.

"No!" The struggle happened quickly before Shawn's eyes. He wrenched open the door and ran inside with Lassiter on his heels. Lassiter pushed ahead and kicked Tommy off of Juliet, successfully pinning and cuffing Tommy after he'd rolled to a stop, wheezing for air after the blow Lassiter's foot had dealt him to the stomach.

Shawn dropped to his knees beside Juliet, helping her sit-up while she gasped for air.

"Shawn…" she managed to get out between gasps.

She sounded so relieved to see him, for more than one reason. "Shh, I'm here. Just breathe."

"I'm sorry," she said, needing to tell him. "I thought he…I thought you…." There were tears in her eyes now. Tears of fear about what almost happened mingled with tears of relief from finding Shawn and herself safe and together.

"I know, I know what he did," Shawn calmed her. "Nothing is your fault. You did what I would've done. We got here as fast as we could." Juliet turned her head to glance at Lassiter.

"I'm just glad we made it in time. You okay, O'Hara?"

Juliet nodded. "Thanks, Carlton." He nodded in return keeping a foot on Tommy's chest to keep him from trying to move.

Juliet leaned into Shawn, taking in everything that had happened. She heard the police cars pull-up outside and watched as Tommy was hauled away. She tried to ignore the sneer he gave her as he was led out to a waiting car, but failed to repress the shiver that ran down her spine.

"Hey," said Shawn, getting her full attention. He rubbed her arms soothingly. "How about we get out of here?"

"Best idea I've heard all day." The smile she gave him let Shawn know that she was going to be okay. Juliet was strong and he would always be nearby if she needed anything at all.

Shawn helped her to get up, putting her arm around his neck so he could carry the majority of her slight weight. When they got outside, Juliet stopped and turned to Shawn, wrapping her other arm around his neck and kissing him. Her kiss conveyed all the fear, relief, gratitude, and love she felt for him at this moment. Shawn willingly returned her kiss before pulling back to give her a smile. They silently continued over to the car where Lassiter was waiting to take them back to the station.

**Author's Notes: Whew! Okay, the next chapter should wrap it up! Let me know what you thought:)**


	7. The wrap up

Right after work, Juliet headed to the Psych office. The peaceful late afternoon sun warmed her and the fact that it was Friday and she had the weekend off made her smile.

A few weeks had passed since her encounter with Tommy Winslow, but now he and his brother were both where they belonged: behind bars.

"You didn't start without me, I hope." Juliet walked into the office to find Shawn and Gus sitting on the couch watching television. A near empty box of pizza sat open on the table before them.

"We saved some for you," said Shawn through a mouthful of pizza. He swallowed. "It's Canadian bacon and pineapple, extra on the pineapple."

"Thanks…." Juliet sat down between Shawn and Gus who scooted over to make room for her. "So, what's the plan?" Juliet helped herself to a slice of pizza.

Gus reached over the side of the couch and pulled up a couple of boxes that contained their evening plans. "I brought Cranium and Taboo."

"You can't play Cranium with only three people," scoffed Shawn.

"One of us can play for both teams. I call not it."

"You can't call not it."

"Yes I can, Shawn. You're just saying that because you didn't call "not it" first."

"Not true. Besides, I played rover last time and I don't want to be stuck on Jules' team during a humdinger again."

"Hey!" Juliet's indignant tone was somewhat hampered by the extra pineapples in her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Jules. You're a talented woman, but humming is not your forte. You make every song sound the same."

Juliet glared at Shawn, but the corners of her mouth twitched. "I do not. You're just a bad guesser."

They both turned to Gus for back-up.

"Oh no, I am not taking sides. The last time I did that I wound up with a silly string booby trap in my briefcase."

Shawn chuckled at the memory. Gus, however, did not look amused.

"We could just choose another game," Juliet suggested.

They both looked at her momentarily before discarding that idea and getting back to their previous conversation.

"It was one of my best pranks. Don't tell me you didn't find it even slightly amusing?"

"No, Shawn, I didn't."

Juliet smiled to herself and sat back with another slice of pizza. This could take a while....

**Author's Notes: Thanks for reading everyone, and for all the great reviews!**


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